


Yours Is The Brightest Sun

by calamityandwoe



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen, Gen but can be read as pre-Revalink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:46:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calamityandwoe/pseuds/calamityandwoe
Summary: Revali sees a different side of Link.
Relationships: Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 116





	Yours Is The Brightest Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Whelp, I’m going stir-crazy enough in lockdown that I thought I’d take a stab at fanfic, because why not. I’ve been playing a lot of botw so I can pretend to not be trapped in one tiny corner of the world, and here we are. I love Revali and I wanted to give him a chance to meet fun, adrenalin junkie Link.
> 
> Enjoy, stay safe, wear a mask!

They’re in Zora’s domain the first time Revali sees it.

Zelda has had an urge to test whether the various champions are able to pilot divine beasts other than their own. As he is the most mobile champion and Vah Ruto is the most accessible beast, Revali’s been unceremoniously summoned to Zora’s Domain for a thrilling week of being perpetually damp while the princess directs him around and takes notes.  
  


Even worse, the princess and her damnable knight deliver this missive in person as they pass through the Tabantha region, and Revali is too slow to come up with an excuse not to accompany them the rest of the way. Which means several agonizing days in Link’s silent, awkward company. Even the discovery that the champion makes a surprisingly passable salmon meunière does not make the journey tolerable, and by the end Revali is ready to grab the blank-faced knight and _shake_ him just to get a reaction, _any_ kind of emotion out of him.

It’s a blessed relief when the trio finally reach Zora’s Domain, and Revali looks forward to handing Link off to Mipha, who seems to delight in his company for some unfathomable reason. As the guards at the gates greet them, there’s a small uproar- a gaggle of Zora children comes dashing towards them, followed by the Zora princess herself, smiling broadly.

“LinkLinkLink, you’re BACK!!! You _can_ do the Shatterback Mountain dive, _can’t_ you?? Tula says you _can’t,_ she doesn’t _believe_ me-“ rattles the tallest of the children.

This question sets off a raucous argument between the youngsters.

“He’s not even a Zora, he can’t!” interrupts a red, apparently female child.

“Yes he _can_ , I saw him! You were only a _baby_ , you can’t remember it”

“Because you made it up!” The tiny girl has her arms crossed with an air of authority that would be frankly hilarious if it wasn’t so annoying.

“You have to do it for us, Link, _pleeeeease_???” begs the taller boy, somehow showing all of his tiny, pointed teeth as he pleads.

Mipha has been chuckling fondly through the exchange, but at the child’s request she catches Link’s eye and her dewy-eyed gaze turns sharp. “Link, don’t even _think_ about it.”

Revali turns to the champion and is startled to see a mischievous smile blooming on his face- he honestly hadn’t known Link was capable of such an expression.

“But Mipha,” Link starts “I can’t disappoint _children.”_ He shakes his head “That wouldn’t be very heroic behaviour.”

“It. Is. _Dangerous.”_

“So is fighting lynels and you let me do that! Besides, you know I’ve done that dive lots of times, it’s _fine_. And it might inspire some confidence in Hyrule’s Champion! You know, boost morale.” This is more words than Revali has ever heard come out of the champion’s mouth. Is he... actually excited about this? Whatever this argument is about, though, Revali has to concede that Link may have a point. The two guards are obviously still listening to the conversation, and badly feigning polite detachment. Whatever this “dive” is, they desperately want to see it too.

Mipha’s face suggests she knows she’s lost the argument and isn’t terribly disappointed by it, but she seems committed to keeping up the pretence. “I told you it was dangerous all the other times you did it too.” She folds her arms. “Don’t expect me to heal any injuries you give yourself, I refuse to encourage you.” Despite the stern proclamation, she seems to be trying to hide a smile and Link is outright grinning as he turns to the children and nods. They let up a cheer and insist he “do the dive” immediately.

Link looks at the sky and shakes his head. “It’ll have to be tomorrow- it will be dark before I get up there if I do it now.” He turns to give Revali a considering look. “Unless the Rito champion would give me a ride?”

It takes him a moment to realize he’s being addressed. “Absolutely not.” Revali snaps. “I’m a _warrior,_ not a... carrier pigeon!”

“It’s either that or suffer through an entire day of tiny Zora asking whether I’m ‘there yet’ tomorrow” Link warns.

“Besides,” He murmurs, leaning in so that only Revali can hear,“haven’t you been wishing for me to walk off the edge of a cliff since the day you met me? This should be a dream come true for you.”

Revali is briefly speechless, because the champion seems to have had an honest-to-Hylia personality switch right in front if him- who _is_ this person who smiles and argues and makes sarcastic comments? It takes a moment for Link’s words to properly land, and Revali makes an aborted attempt to stammer out a denial before sighing and rolling his eyes. “Fine. Let it never be said that I did not make sacrifices for our _Champion._ Where, exactly, am I ferrying you, oh mighty hero?”

“Just up there” Link gestures to a distant peak that appears to be _miles_ above the water- surely he’s not planning to jump from there? Suddenly Mipha’s protests seem extremely reasonable, but far be it for Revali to stand in the way of the knight’s attempted self-destruction. If he wants to jump off a damned mountain, Revali is not going to stop him.

Neither, it seems, is Zelda, although Revali has the impression she’s been distracted by the towering spectacle of Vah Ruto through the majority of this conversation, and may not actually have seen where Link was pointing. Only moments later, the Zora children are running off to gather interested locals on some viewing platform, and Link and Revali are in the sky.

As he soars towards the peak, Revali sees why Link was not keen to make the journey on foot- the way appears to be blocked by steep cliffs and towering waterfalls; it must be a daunting climb. Why Link ever would have done this is baffling to the warrior- perhaps simply to sharpen his climbing skills? Probably the idiot’s previous “dives” have simply been the result of loosing his grip and falling off the edge- Revali smirks at the thought.

Within minutes, the pair have reached the summit, and Link drops to the ground. “Thanks, Revali, it would have taken me hours to climb up here”, he says with a bright smile as he walks to the edge.

Revali joins him and looks down- the drop is dizzying, even for a Rito, and the water’s rippling surface seems impossibly far away. Surely Link is not _actually_ going to dive from here? Is there some trick? But the champion appears utterly unbothered by their precarious perch. In fact, he looks more relaxed than Revali has ever seen him, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a quiet sigh as he gazes across the horizon. The sun is beginning to set and even Revali has to concede that the view is _spectacular._

The stand together in silence for several unusually comfortable minutes before Link’s soft voice breaks the quiet. “Your eyesight is better than mine, can you see if everyone is ready?”

Revali peers down at Zora’s domain and sees a small crowd of Zora clustered on an ornate platform at the edge of the reservoir below- the children bouncing excitedly at the front. He raises a wing and gets enthusiastic waves back. “You’re fortunate to have the assistance of my superior senses” he sniffs. “They appear to be ready for you, whatever lunatic stunt you’re planning on pulling”.

Link actually _laughs_ and Revali feels an odd pull at his chest as he realizes this is the first time he’s heard the champion do so. Tucking his hair behind his ears, Link leans casually over the edge for one last look, then turns back to Revali and meets his gaze with a sparkle in his blue eyes and a delighted grin that Revali has never seen on his face before. As he does so, the setting sun catches his blond hair in a bright halo and for a moment he is _breathtaking;_ standing on the edge of the world, fierce and beautiful and fearless. For the first time since making Link’s acquaintance, Revali sees a _champion_ , and thinks _this is someone I would follow._

Before Revali can process this thoroughly unexpected revelation, Link winks, and then he is _gone_ , plummeting headfirst over the edge in a spectacular dive. Revali stands frozen for a heartbeat, then leaps into the air to follow Link down in case... what? In case he splatters on the rocks? Goes under and doesn’t come up? _You can’t even swim, you stupid bird, what would you even be able to do? You don’t even like_ _him,_ he reminds himself, _and it’s his own fault if he drowns_. But his heart is hammering just the same, and he doesn’t let out his breath until Link surfaces among the golden waves, throwing his head back and _laughing_ again as he shakes water from his eyes. He spots Revali and that grin is back, sending a pang through the Rito’s traitor heart as he wonders where _this_ person has been all along, while a silent, blank-faced soldier has been trudging along in his place.

He gets his answer moments later, as they near the shore. Zelda has broken away from the Zora and is storming towards the water’s edge with a furious expression on her face.Revali can pinpoint the moment Link spots her- his face shutters in an instant, that bright smile erased as if it had never been.

“Are you _completely MAD???_ You could have been _killed_!!” The princess hisses as Link reaches the platform. “And for what? A foolish stunt? Who will defeat Ganon if you fall to your death playing some stupid game? I thought you had more sense of duty than this, what in Hylia were you _thinking_?”

When Link climbs out of the water, his posture is stiff and his face is back to the familiar blank mask. He gives Zelda a polite, silent nod that somehow clearly indicates an apology, but offers no other response. Zelda makes a stifled scream of frustration and Revali nearly does the same, but he finds himself suddenly more irritated with the princess than with Link- it feels strangely as though she has stolen something precious.

Revali watches Link all through the evening meal, hoping that the excited chatter and enthusiastic compliments from the Zora might bring him back to life, but his hope is in vain- Link nods along with conversation, but speaks rarely and shows no emotion. Revali is so pre-occupied with the champion that Mipha asks him if something is wrong. He nearly responds, but then realizes he has no idea what to say. How can he ask whether Mipha knows that Link has a whole, actual _personality_ that he keeps hidden? Of course she knows. He realizes now that the Link he saw up on the mountain must have been the one she grew up with, and her incomprehensible infatuation with him suddenly makes much more sense. Does she feel the same strange sense of loss that he now does when she looks at Link’s cold, empty expression? She must. Rather than admit to his sudden interest in the champion, though, Revali turns the conversation to the divine beasts, and Mipha does not press further.

Revali sneaks glances at Link for the rest of the night, still searching for even a glimmer of the laughing daredevil from the cliff. He doesn’t get his wish until he sleeps- and dreams of Hyrule’s champion plunging his fabled sword into a dark, swirling calamity, wreathed in gold and smiling like the sun.


End file.
